Missouri State Basketball Championship

My Instagram feed @justnlstewart
Following images ©Justin L. Stewart. Do not use without proper licensing.

Another week, another opportunity. This time I was able to shoot state basketball for a couple of newspapers. As I've said before, I'm not a huge sports fan and it's not really a passion of mine to photograph it, but it does lend itself to fun explorations photographic.

I don't feel like I did a good job of really getting something different this time out. I got sucked into getting good action shots and just fulfilling the papers' needs. I tried to get some better crowd stuff but couldn't quite figure it out. I kept looking around for stuff outside the action but things didn't seem to click this time.

Excited for more opportunities like this down the road. The more you shoot it, the more you're able to explore it and see it differently.

Thanks for giving it a look!

Three Days of State Wrestling

My Instagram feed @justnlstewart
Following images ©Justin L. Stewart. Do not use without proper licensing.

I was lucky enough to shoot my first state wrestling championship here in Columbia a few weeks ago. While I'm not an avid sports fan, or a big fan of shooting sports all the time, I think it's an easy thing to shoot and you can make some really fun pictures while doing it.

I've never shot a state tournament of any sort, but I knew how emotional any state championship could be. I was excited to shoot something where emotions would be running high. I was also interested in shooting a sport I participated in for seven years of my childhood (I say participated because I was awful), a sport that was my high school's pride and joy.

There were certain matches I was supposed to shoot, but I kept my eyes open for anything that I found interesting - I followed my curiosity and eye. It was fun. I was shooting for myself and for a paper. Half the photos in this post weren't published, but I love 'em. Tears, frustration, celebration, and cool lighting. What more can you ask for?

So glad to have had so much fun with a professional opportunity. I'm looking forward to doing the same this week as I shoot state basketball.

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Thanks for giving me the time to read and look!